I have a small Satsuma Mandarin tree. This is my first, and so far only, citrus tree. It bloomed about two months ago and set probably 25-30 fruits. Slowly they've been falling off and I'm down to about 6 fruits now. The largest is about as big as a man's thumbnail and the smallest about the size of a pinky nail. The tree really needs to be repotted but I was hoping to wait.

Since I am such a novice I was hoping someone could help me with what I need to be doing. It's in a hoophouse that's been staying mid 80s to low 90s during the day and high 40s to mid 50s at night.

I don't know what else to say about it and will try to answer any questions. I hope someone can help.

desertdreamer

Your temperature looks okay. Normally, only about 1-2% of the original blooms will turn into fruits that stay around. That means, you are more than lucky if one fruit would stay and mature for a young tree. Anyway, don't feel bad if all the fruits fall off the first year, they are not good tasting anyway, but from third year and onwards, they start to taste better. If the tree loses its fruits the first year, it should grow faster and bigger, something that you would like so that it can carry more but better tasting fruits later.

Hey desertdreamer, Welcome!
It's very normal for most fruits to drop. Are the leaves healthy?
If the largest is man's thumbnail size it's a good start I'd say. I have a tree that set about 40 fruits & I have 6 left - smaller than yours LOL, if it makes you feel better!
Where do you live?

Thanks for the replies. It does make me feel better knowing they are expected to fall.

The leaves look healthy, and I noticed a new one today. When I first brought it home in November I had a small problem with aphids but a few rounds of neem and washing it off in the shower seemed to take care of them.

Should I wait to repot it or would it be OK to go ahead and do it now? It's in a 2 gallon pot and I have a 5 gallon one I'd like to put it in.

Patty, I'm in Southeastern New Mexico, at the top of zone 7 and really wish I was in zone 8 or 9 but I guess this is my stopping point.

desertdreamer

I repot anytime of year. When you slide it out (gently), you will see if it is rootbound. If all you see are roots winding around, then gently unwind them & spread them out. I wouldn't go any bigger than 2 inches all around. If the pot is too big, the plant won't take up water fast enough & may cause root rot. Make sure it is well draining mix & leave the rootball intact (don't remove old soil). Keep it out of direct sun for at least a day in case of transplant shock.
Good luck & I hope you get at least one fruit - what I'm hoping for too.

The fruit drop is normal. One of the extensions agents from Louisiana recommends to take all the fruit off the first 3 years and then let it start bearing. It is best to get the growth on the tree first.

To expand on Buddingman's thread, very young satsuma trees that are just begining to fruit, the first fruits really do not taste very good. So many people remove all fruits for the first 3 years to enable the tree to obtain as much growth as possible. The goal for a young tree is to double or triple it's size in EACH of the first two years of growth. I fully understand how hard it is to pick all the fruit from your citrus, especially when you only have one tree. - Millet

Welcome to the forum.


Malcolm Manners told me "It is normal for an orange tree to drop somewhat more than 99% of its flowers." This was in response to my posting question "How much will be lost?". All of my flowers are now gone and I have some fruitlings, not quite as big as your you have described, but I'm hoping.

I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks

Thanks everyone. I appreciate all the replies. I knew about removing the fruit from things like apples and peaches the first couple of years and just didn't equate that to citrus. Now I just need to get it repotted.